I’ve just been playing with wordle (a gadget that creates text clouds based on the frequency that words appear in a block of text) and I wondered what would happen if I copied and pasted the contents of the current front page of this blog. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE this!

As promised, some new No-Man. I’m posting a couple of tracks so you understand my “WTF” reaction when I heard the second of these for the first time… “All Sweet Things” opens the new album and is typical No-Man, so laidback it looks like this man. Another track in the same vein follows (“Beautiful Songs You Should Know”) before “Pigeon Drummer” plays, and it’s probably the last thing I’d ever expect to hear on a No-Man record.

Gavin Harrison is responsible. You bad, bad man. I soiled myself.

All Sweet Things:

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Pigeon Drummer:

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My first No-Man post – but not the last… I’ve got another one on the way with a couple of tracks from their new album “Schoolyard Ghosts”, but first here’s one from their 2001 album, “Returning Jesus”.

It took me quite a while to get into No-Man, mainly because I picked the wrong starting point. I started with “Speak”, a 1999 compilation of re-recorded versions of their very earliest material from the days before they had a record deal, and I still find it hard work to listen to it even now that I’m more familiar with them. I think my problem with them initially was that Tim Bowness’s vocals often seem to slow the music down – it’s not the liveliest music to start with, and his delivery seems to drag it back even further. The fact that I persisted with their stuff is purely down to Steven Wilson’s involvement (as you may have spotted the Porcupine Tree kingpin can do no wrong in my eyes). And it was definitely worth persisting, once I worked my way through their back catalogue and found “Returning Jesus” and “Flowermouth” I’ve not looked back. Those two records stand out as their finest work, although this year’s release is pushing them close, as you’ll find out in the next few days.

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This blog is intended as a way to spread the word about music I really like, and encourage others to support artists who are making great music. "Try before you buy", if you like. If you hear something you like here, go and buy it - I'll post links to online shops where you can buy each track I blog about.

If you're reading this and you are the artist, or their record company, and you don't want a track I've posted to be available to hear in this way just email me and let me know - I will be more than happy to take the file down straight away. I've heard of other bloggers getting threatened with letters from lawyers, and there is absolutely no need to waste your money on that with me!